...Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder and affects people of all ages Epilepsy means the same thing as "seizure disorders" Epilepsy is characterized by unpredictable seizures and can cause other health problems Epilepsy is a spectrum condition with a wide range of seizure types and control varying from person-to-person Epilepsy is a chronic disorder, the hallmark of which is recurrent, unprovoked seizures. Many people with epilepsy have more than one type of seizure and may have other symptoms of neurological problems as well. Sometimes EEG testing, clinical history, family history and outlook are similar among a group of people with epilepsy. In these situations, their condition can be defined as a specific epilepsy syndrome. The human brain is the source of human epilepsy. Although the symptoms of a seizure may affect any part of the body, the electrical events that produce the symptoms occur in the brain. The location of that event, how it spreads and how much of the brain is affected, and how long it lasts all have profound effects. These factors determine the character of a seizure and its impact on the individual. Having seizures and epilepsy also can also affect one's safety, relationships, work, driving and so much more. How epilepsy is perceived or how people are treated (stigma) often is a bigger problem than the seizures. The human brain is the source of all human epilepsy. A person is diagnosed with epilepsy if they have had at...
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...Epilepsy in and of itself does not effect the tissues of the body for the long term. The effects on the tissues of the body comes more with some of the disorders that effect the tissues of the body that can also cause epilepsy, the main tissues that are affected by these disorders is brain tissue. One example of a disorder that effects brain tissue is Alzheimer's, this disease actually physically changes the brain in its entirety. The tissues of the brain start to break down due to nerve cell damage causing the size of the brain to shrink dramatically affecting almost all of its function. The deeper into the brain with this condition the more there are signs of tissue damage, the cortex shrivels up, the hippocampus shrinks which is the area of the brain that plays a key role in the formation of memories, and ventricles grow larger....
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...Epilepsy "Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by short, recurrent, periodic attacks of sensory and motor malfunctions called seizures. Epileptic seizures are initiated by abnormal discharges of electricity from the brain. They occur suddenly and overwhelm the patient without any possibility of avoiding the fit. Seizures are brief, lasting from seconds to minutes. "The negative phenomenon that a patient might experience as a result of seizures is loss of awareness, loss of muscle tone, or loss of language."3 A nonepileptic seizure, one that is not caused by epilepsy, is an episode of abnormal behavior that is not caused by a disturbance in brain activity, but by some other problem. Abrupt drops the blood pressure, an imbalance...
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...Ms. Johnson March 4, 2014 Epilepsy is a series of brain disorders that cause repeated and unpredictable seizures that range from severe, life threatening, disabling or benign (In epilepsy "National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 2013). The normal pattern of neurology activity becomes disturbed due to brain illness, damage to the brain; abnormal growth and other unknown causes. Some examples that can cause epilepsy are strokes and brain tumors. Most often the onset for this disease is early childhood or early adulthood. The brain is located in the cranial cavity and is surrounded by the meninges, Dura mater, arachnoids, cerebrospinal fluid and ventricles. The brain has four main divisions such as the Cerebrum which is the largest part of the brain that’s divided into the right and left cerebrals. These Cerebrals are the broken down into five lobes which are the frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital lobe and the insula. This is where thoughts, memory and reasoning occur. The diencephalon or interbrain is located between the cerebral hemispheres and the brain stem home of the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The thalamus forms the lateral walls of the third ventricle. The thalamus sorts out sensory impulse. The hypothalamus located midline and inferior to the thalamus and form the floor of the third ventricle. The purpose of the hypothalamus is to maintain homeostasis, controls autonomic nervous system and pituitary gland. The brain stem is located in the anterior...
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...Epilepsy a Seizure Disorder Rebekah Brothers Snead State Community College 4/13/2014 NUR 203 Nursing Through the Lifespan Abstract In this paper Evidence-Based practice will be used as a guide through the nursing process for clients with a seizure disorder. This is a discussion on etiology of seizures. We will also explain the different types of seizures. The specific care for clients experiencing a seizure. The critical data that the physician needs in order to help the client. And the education of the client and family on how to deal with this disorder. *This sounds good for an abstract. It doesn’t necessarily have to be long* Witnessing a seizure is not something you are likely to forget, but as a bedside nurse it is something you are bound to experience. Seizures are a transient disruption in brain function caused by excessive electrical discharge of cortical neurons in one or more areas of the brain. They affect an estimated 25 million Americans. Each year in the United states, 300,000 people—120,000 of the younger than 18 have a seizure for the first time, and about 181,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy. The proper functioning of the brain involves the brain sending electronic pulses to receptors for information communication. The receptors include muscles, nerves, and the spinal cord. However, any disruption of a part of the brain will mean that the brain sends abnormal messages to the receptors which...
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...The first video that I watched was Suzana Herculano-Houzel Ted talk video on “What is so special about the human brain?” I thought that this Ted talk was very informative about what makes the human brain unique. All species have brains that are made the same way. However, the human brain is unique in its size, number of neurons and use of energy. According to Dr. Houszel, the human brain is modeled after primates and is distinctive in that it has a larger number of neurons in the cerebral cortex than any other animal. Human brains average 86 billion neurons, 16 billion located in the cerebral cortex, which give humans superior cognitive abilities. She asserts that humans set themselves apart from other animals one and half million years ago with the invention of cooking, enabling humans to get all the calories (energy) they need in just a few sittings instead of having to continuously eat all day. She contends that by being able to provide for our calorie (energy) needs from cooking we were able to develop the largest number of neurons in the cerebral cortex and that is the simplest explanation of our cognitive abilities. The second video that I watched was Neil DeGrasse Tyson on...
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...Marijuana and Epilepsy. When Charlotte Figi and her twin brother Chase were born on fOctober 18th 2006 they were healthy, happy full term babies. Charlotte was 7lbs 12oz, and everything was normal. But when Charlotte was three months old the horror began. It started while Charlotte was taking a bath her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body began to convulse. Her seizures lasted for about thirty minutes or more. They brought her to the hospital but they weren’t calling it epilepsy yet. The doctors performed MRI’s, EEG’s, and spinal taps. Still no results, weeks passed and her seizures started becoming longer and more frequent lasting up to four hours. All of her doctors became more confused when all of her tests came back normal, they claimed she would grow out of it. But her seizures continued and hospital stays became longer. When Charlotte was two the Figi’s took her to Children's Hospital Colorado. The neurologist tested her for Dravet syndrome, the very rare form of intractable epilepsy, intractable meaning not controlled by medicine. Doctors put her on a course of seven medications, some of them very intense barbiturates and benzodiazepines. They worked for a short time but her seizures came back with a vengeance. The Figi’s were running out of time. Epilepsy controls the lives of about 50 million people. People with epilepsy tend to have recurring seizures known as fits. The seizures are caused by surges of electrical activity in the brain causing an...
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...Growing up Epileptic June of 1980 is the year I was born. It was a time when Neurologist did not know much about Epilepsy. Born to a mother who did not know how to handle a child, every time she would pick me up or move me in any way, I would not stop crying. How do people deal with things or people that are different from what they know? In the same case, those that are different from the majority, how do they grow up in a world where they are treated as outcast? This is my story, a story of a girl who always felt like an outcast, and has used it to her advantage. As a child, my mother and I would drive every few weeks to Children’s Hospital in Seattle, WA, for routine exams. For the most part, the procedures consisted of a scan or a simple test where I would have to visualize something and describe what I saw. The only problem was I did not know how to visualize something without seeing a picture of it first. Other times I was blindfolded. I was instructed to select items that had the same shape and place them in a box. This procedure became my favorite because I found a way to cheat. More so, this lead to my fascination of doing things blindfolded or with my eyes closed. No matter what it was, I spent a lot of my youth sitting in a hospital waiting for the doctor to show up or having someone draw my blood for more test. I disliked having my blood drawn, so I would always ask for the butterfly. It takes longer but the needle is a quarter of an inch long compared to...
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...Generalized seizures, as opposed to partial seizures, are a type of seizure that impairs consciousness and distorts the electrical activity of the whole or a larger portion of the brain (which can be seen, for example, on electroencephalography, EEG). Generalized epilepsy is primary because the epilepsy is the originally diagnosed condition itself, as opposed to secondary epilepsy, which occurs as a symptom of a diagnosed condition Seizure detected across entire head, begins abruptly, synchronous rhythms of about 3 Hz, ends after about 12 seconds. Causes includes Tumor, trauma, metabolic, infection, vascular disease, genetic predisposition (e.g. mutated sodium channels, altered GAGA synaptic inhibition). EEG rhythms vary with particular states of behavior. EEG grouped based on frequency range and named a Greek letter i.e beta rhythms, alpha rhythms, theta rhythms and delta rhythms. Alpha waves are Awake but non attentive large, regular. But beta waves are Awake and attentive low amplitude, fast, irregular beta...
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...Left Brain vs. Right Brain “According to the theory of left-brain or right-brain dominance, each side of the brain controls different types of thinking.” (Cherry 2012) From books to television programs, you've probably heard the phrase mentioned that people are either right brained or left brained thinkers or perhaps you have gone online to take a test to see which one you are. Psychologist have been researching the brain to try and understand learning capability’s that can help with such things as epilepsy, dyslexia and other seizure and learning problems. The right brain-left brain theory came from the work of Roger W. Sperry, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1981. While studying the effects of epilepsy, Sperry discovered that cutting the corpus collosum (the structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain) could reduce or eliminate seizures. However, Sperry also discovered that after the two parts were no longer connected, the patients could no longer name objects that were processed by the right side of the brain, but were able to name objects that were processed by the left-side of the brain. Based on this information, Sperry suggested that the left side of the brain is used to process certain information such as language. When researching the different sides of the brain, it has been noted that each side is capable of leaning the same things just in a different way. The right side of the brain is best at expressive and creative tasks. The right side...
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...12 ‘night, Mother, Interpretation of mise en scene Joseph Liardi HUMN428 - De Vry University April 14, 2012 Joe, your analysis is very thorough with good attention to detail, and your focus on the psychology at play adds depth and insight. Clearly, you put a lot of time and attention into your study of this play. Terrific job! 200 points 12 ‘night, Mother, Interpretation of mise en scene Joseph Liardi HUMN428 - De Vry University April 14, 2012 Joe, your analysis is very thorough with good attention to detail, and your focus on the psychology at play adds depth and insight. Clearly, you put a lot of time and attention into your study of this play. Terrific job! 200 points ‘night, Mother, Interpretation of mise en scene Marsha Norman was born in Kentucky in 1947. A child who was isolated from the world by her family’s religious norms found comfort in playing the piano, reading books and playing with her imaginary friend called Bettering. Isolation and loneliness of life is something that is familiar to this play wright and is found in her many works such as “The Secret Garden” and “Getting Out”. Marsha Norman’s imaginary friend Bettering can be seen as a metaphor that compares her own relationships with her family, particularly her mother, and the feelings of alienation she felt as a child and her desire to be in control and better her life. (Yes, fascinating name she chose for her imaginary friend! Children can be so wise) Her own childhood...
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...In this case study, Gazzaniga, M.S and Roger W. Sperry studied the split-brain individuals. The researchers were exploring how far can the two halves of the human brain be able to function on their own, and if they could have separate and unique abilities. If we were to study each side of the brain separately, we would have to surgically cut the corpus callosum, which is what connects and communicates the information between the two hemispheres of your brain. In some cases of extreme epilepsy or seizures, this surgery turned out to be successful and they were called “split-brain” patients. The researches wanted to know if the information traveling between the two halves of your brain were to be interrupted, would the right side of your body...
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...defence could be used but isn’t. Unfair on people who could have qualified to use it but didn’t and are convicted. There are different disposals of it whether you are in the magistrates or in the crown court. ‘Disposed’ of differently in Magistrates where an order made under the mental health act 1983. Prosecution can raise insanity as an issue. Problems: 1. ‘Disease of the mind’ – M’Naughten in 1843, led to case law that distinguishes internal and external factors and as a result you get cases like Hennessy and Quick (diabetes). Insane meant something else back in 1843 and wouldn’t be associated with things such as diabetes and sleepwalking. Mind doesn’t mean brain; sleepwalking (burgess) and epilepsy (can’t remember case). (600,000 people with epilepsy in the UK, they don’t all want to be labelled as insane). Epilepsy and diabetes are physical conditions that lead to mental illness. 2. Label of insanity is stigmatising and inaccurate – Stigma associated with ‘insanity’ - The very nature of defence is off-putting to many people. Legal representatives sometimes do not want to suggest their...
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...Under the harsh light of a headlamp with a primeval scalpel in one hand, Dr. William Beecher Scoville was prepared to cut into the brain of his 23 year old epileptic patient. He leans over the operation table, looking deep into the hole he just drilled above Henry Molaison’s eyebrow. And with a hook like tool, he pulls aside the frontal lobe, reaching deep into the center of the brain towards the goal – the seahorse-shaped hippocampus. Using an electric cautery to snip it lose and a thin tubed vacuum to remove it, the surgery was complete. In 1953, the precise function of the hippocampus was still shrouded in mystery. But the hippocampus was known to have a connection with epilepsy, proven by the successes of the removal of half a hippocampus...
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...survey. The instrument that will be used will be an interview with Zmira King-Elbaz, a psychologist at the Lester B. Pearson School Board. This school board has a fairly large faculty and staff (N= 1000-5000), where the author will have a sample of one psychologist (n=1). It is to be expected that she will be in favour of having the street name changed to Doctor Penfield Avenue, taking into account his contributions to McGill University and more specifically, psychology and neuroscience. Literature Review Wilder Penfield is one of the most famous doctors, let alone neurosurgeons in the world. According to McGill University, the Montreal Neurological Institute was founded in 1934 by Dr. Penfield and is a “world-leading destination for brain research and advanced patient care” and is known to be one of the largest in the world. Medical students at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia wrote a 3-page article in Journal of Investigative Surgery, featuring a brief summary of Penfield’s life. According to these students (Brookes, Chaney, Wu and Zack), Doctor Penfield was born on January 26, 1891 in Spokane, Washington into a family that was “rich with medical tradition” (2000, p. 237). However rich they were in medical tradition, their lack of financial abilities led him and his brother to go live with their grandparents in Hudson, Wisconsin (2000, p. 237). His father, Dr. Charles Samuel Penfield was Spokane’s first physician after “settling there to find...
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